Cirrus@Austlit

'An original fictional take on the composer Giacomo Puccini's life and times - what inspired him to write Italian opera, the delights and conflicts of his love life, his extraordinary sensitivity, and his single-minded drive to create.'  (Publication summary)

'In 2035 at Bradfield in Western Sydney, a love triangle develops during a national computer and internet breakdown and the social disruption that follows. Systems collapse everywhere - phones, food, fuel, and even toilet paper, are in short supply. It's complete chaos.

'Soon a flamboyant red-haired multinational music executive falls in love with a Vietnamese-Australian artist who in turn is attracted to a musician studying robotics.

'Automatons everywhere stage a massive walkout to reach a rainforest hub in Far North Queensland and the three lovers follow - on a mind-expanding road trip in search of the supreme power behind Artificial Intelligence, as well as true love.' (Publication summary)

'Follow the blue wave as it rolls thousands of kilometres across the wide Pacific to reach the home of this novel, Bondi Beach, where Anu and Jai face the wave's magnificent and transformative crash onto warm white sands.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'An experience of compulsory quarantine for an Australian traveller returning home during the coronavirus pandemic. Stranded in Peru when the country’s borders closed early in the year, she was lucky to find a seat on a chartered plane run by an adventure tour company, after the Australian Government failed to organise a Qantas flight to bring nationals home.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'A collection of new writing by emerging writers - from couchsurfing to rollerskating, Valentine's day to Uber-sex, Mont-Saint-Michel to the Gold Coast.

'What/s not to enjoy?'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The Universal Language is a memoir about the unity of music set in the complexity of Israel, as a young woman studying in Jerusalem comes to question her own identity through the prism of a divided city.

'In 2013, Nicky Gluch knew herself to be Australian, a woman, aged 19 and a Jew. In Israel, she found herself travelling with Americans, working alongside Palestinians, and living, for a time, with an Arab nun. She thought she wanted to be a doctor, that healing people would fulfil a sense of purpose, but as she dove deeper into exploring that which divides us – religion, language, country – she came to seek that which unites us.

'Nicky Gluch has a vision of what message she wants readers to gain from her stories:

'‘We should be seeking that which unites us rather than that which divides. But the aim of the book is more to provide a reflective space.

​'‘I call it a book of fragments. How the pieces come together is one part, but I also urge readers to look between the gaps.’'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'New Authors – New Writing

'A skyful of stars, an architect’s dream house, vengeance and betrayal, immaculate love.

'Just a few of the motifs our SSOA writers use in weaving their spirited stories.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Nina, a fragile young woman, leaves her secure marriage and moves to New York City. There she finds insight into the workings of her mind through an illicit relationship with Benjamin, a self-destructive painter. Discovering the world of psychoanalysis, they experience the depths of love and loss.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Unable to speak after suffering a stroke, Jenny never lost her understanding of words. Determined to regain her life, she used singing, swimming and her love of life to find her way back.

'This book is her triumph – and a compelling example to others.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'In The Boots, all Mikey has to do is get his mate's lucky boots to the stadium - but when Mikey accidentally loses them, his day is turned upside down.

'Will he find them - and if so, will it be in time for the game?

'In trying to meet the deadline, Mikey has to cope with weekend crowds, hamburger cravings, a girl with a fox tattoo, Jedi Knights, and a bunch of footie supporters who are hell bent on getting their hands on those lucky boots.

'Mikey always thought Karma was a myth. But he may just become a believer.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'A diamond theft. A fateful dancer. Passion, love and money in a story that unfolds through the rhythm of the tango. A Taste for Diamonds is a love story that spans two continents, from London to Buenos Aires, as Harriett and the man she loves – the man who loves her in return – face the consequences of getting involved in the international diamond trade. Not everyone’s a good guy, as they find out to their peril.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'Here in Sydney, a siren city lying between the ocean and concrete towers, there are a lot of cafes and pubs. So many. And here too, these places guard the soul of the city, its merits and its defects.

The poems that make up the ‘Sydney Collection’ do not always speak of the physical places mentioned in the title and are almost never just descriptive of venues, parks or streets. No. Mostly, the places are containers … the cups or bottles of emotions discovered, observed, heard, lived or just imagined in those places. And often even written there, in the midst of the fretting of everyday life.

This collection pays tribute to a city that has become a second home for me. It describes the city’s soul. Its life. Even its dark side.' (Source: Author's introduction)

'Political journalist Nick Hunter suddenly loses his memory. He can't find his wallet, his computer password or even his name. When it comes to women it's even more confusing. Does he have a lover or a wife?

'It doesn't get any easier when he realises his life is in danger as he's been researching a story on corruption at the highest level of political life. Things get even stickier once Nick has a 6-shooter out of his safety deposit box and in his hand, ready to fire in his own defence.

'Set in the northern and eastern suburbs of Sydney where coffee and sex are almost too freely available, this story will sharpen your senses and set your crime thriller compass on true course.' (Publication Summary)

'This collecion of short stories will appeal to readers who are attracted to snapshots of the human condition. While set in Australia, the stories reflect universal themes. They range over a number of genres from crime to science fiction, from human weakness to human strength.' (Publication summary)

'Road to Rishi Konda is a book of insight and charm. A series of tales simply told, it’s a gift for parents and teachers. At once fascinating and delightful, Geetha Waters’ stories centre on a girl growing up in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh in the ’60s and ’70s.

'These are youthful tales, yet are underpinned by Geetha’s deep understanding of childhood education, based both on her academic studies and in practice in her daily life as a mother and childcare professional.

'Written from a child’s perspective, the tales of awakening to life offer the reader an opportunity to appreciate how all children learn, as they draw on a deep well of curiosity that needs to be respected.

'Geetha is concerned to throw light on the work of the philosopher J Krishnamurti as a revolutionary 20th century educator. He would warn his students about the impact of language & conditioning, urging the small girl Geetha and her friends to observe its impact on their minds and lives.

'Geetha Waters now incorporates the stories found in ‘Road to Rishi Konda’ in the STEP program for children and teachers in South India, a training module based on Krishnamurti’s interactive style of relating with children.'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Myanmar's future is informed by its past - and BURMA MY MOTHER tells it like it is. It's a valuable story of living through good times and plenty of bad in Burma, now known as Myanmar, before an escape to a new life of freedom. Author Sao Khemawadee Mangrai's husband was imprisoned for 5 years, and his father was shot and killed sitting alongside independence leader, General Aung San, when he was assassinated. Khemawadee grew up in a Shan state in the north-east of Myanmar, previously known as Burma, and now lives in Sydney. Her sad memories are also infused by the beauty of the country and the grace of Myanmar's Buddhist culture. She also writes candidly about WWII.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Themes of the sea and the emotions, particularly the deeply felt joys and melancholies experienced by men, are a touchstone of this author’s work and are found again in Night Road to Life.

Ferdinando Manzo’s thoughts are not bound to fluidity; they fly to the greatest heights of exhilaration in poems such as, The sky above us, which displays ‘a mantle of stars that burns in my heart’ and in the evocative lines of Eclipse: ‘the moon rose, bright between the eyelids of the night’. Even the constellation Andromeda is given due recognition, breaking her chains and ready for revenge, before another poem The voice of the universe explores ‘a hidden legend as far away as waves in outer space’.

A distinctive quality of this collection of poems is its musicality – the sounds of words carefully chosen, and their rhythms. The pleasing effect of the sensuality of sounds, ranging from gentleness to the drama of sex, is in tune with the gamut of human emotion.' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'An exciting contemporary thriller set in Sydney, Reported Missing follows the escalating ordeal of a married couple as they try to save their daughter and grandchildren from an abusive, even murderous, son-in-law.

What would you do if your daughter and grandchildren had been kidnapped by an abusive partner?

Would you take the law into your own hands to save them?

And how far would you be prepared to go?

This is the horrific dilemma faced by the heroine of Reported Missing. Her quiet, happy family life in Sydney is thrown into turmoil when she and her husband risk everything to save their daughter.

Then the terror begins – from vile and personal harassment to life threatening acts – until the narrator starts to plot a killing herself. But before she can put her plan into action, she’s framed for another murder.

How can this family escape their nightmare?' (Source: Publisher's blurb)

'An exciting new story from first-time novelist, Ferdinando Manzo, Arco explores man's battle with the sea in an attempt to seek solace. The story is set in two different eras: on the high seas among ancient pirates and in contemporary Europe ravaged by war. The legend of the blue vortex - a door into another world - is the central focus of both periods. An adventure story, it also raises philosophical questions about love and the purpose of life. Commander Arco is at the centre of the search for the blue vortex as legend has it he was the only man who ever found it. Those who follow him are drawn to re-enact the legendary search for eternal life. The narrator, devastated by the loss of his lover, tells a tale of suspense and intrigue as he attempts to recover his lost love. ' (Publication summary)